Antique Furniture Guide

This antique furniture guide is not about furniture from the Middle Ages - I mean who has such antiques apart from Museums and the ultra rich??

We shall start around the 18th Century - (1700-1800) - but the chances of you finding something original from this time are also limited, unless of course you have been lucky enough to inherit - or belong to the ultra rich contingent...


I did some years ago restore a piece of oak furniture with linenfold panels and carved heads dating back - probably 1600s - but these were built into a carcase of around 1880.


The antique chest came from the family Schloss of my client and I suspect the local carpenter had been given the job to save what he could of an ancient oak chest.


That is about as good as it gets where I live. One does occasionally see things in auction and often in private houses. Some of the castles along the Rhine have a few original pieces and of course a good place to look is a Museum.

Having decided so glibly to call this page the "antique furniture guide" - I find now I come to write it, how complicated it all is! We will have to look at the separate countries to get a feel of what it is all about.

The French influenced the Italians and later so did the English and the Dutch - as did the Dutch and French influence English furniture!!!

Swedish and Danish furniture was influenced by the Dutch and the Germans and believe it or not the French were influenced by the English furniture designers. The Belgians did manage to influence some of the very early furniture.... and so it goes on!

I shall try as best I can to put it all into plain English without getting too much into history - after all the idea is that you get an overview that perhaps helps you identify your next piece of antique furniture.

Find out more about antique French Furniture

Find out more about antique English furniture

Find out more about antique Belgium Furniture

Find out more about German Antique Furniture

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